Merit Medical Systems, Inc. $MMSI Stock: Boston Trust Walden Corp Grows Stake

Key Points

• Boston Trust Walden increased its Merit Medical stake by 12.4% in the third quarter, to 531,396 shares valued at about $45.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 99.66% of the company’s stock.
• Merit Medical beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $1.12 versus a $1.04 consensus and revenue of $416.24 million versus $410.56 million expected. Revenue rose 8.4% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus, with an average price target of $105.55; eight analysts rate the stock Buy and five rate it Hold.

Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MMSI - Free Report) by 12.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 531,396 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 58,540 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned approximately 0.89% of Merit Medical Systems worth $45,822,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its position in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 6.4% during the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,260,675 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $108,708,000 after acquiring an additional 76,338 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 1.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,237,298 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $85,287,000 after acquiring an additional 12,285 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merit Medical Systems in the second quarter valued at approximately $78,894,000. Maverick Capital Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Merit Medical Systems by 46.9% in the first quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 714,081 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $49,222,000 after purchasing an additional 227,915 shares during the period. Finally, Irenic Capital Management LP bought a new position in Merit Medical Systems in the second quarter worth approximately $37,623,000. 99.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $101.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Merit Medical Systems in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Merit Medical Systems from $94.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Merit Medical Systems from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merit Medical Systems presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $105.55.

Merit Medical Systems Trading Up 7.7%

NASDAQ:MMSI opened at $90.63 on Thursday. Merit Medical Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $59.74 and a 12 month high of $94.85. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $88.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.22. The company has a current ratio of 4.52, a quick ratio of 3.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market capitalization of $5.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.07, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.56.

Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $416.24 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $410.56 million. Merit Medical Systems had a return on equity of 14.12% and a net margin of 9.94%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.92 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Merit Medical Systems, Inc. will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

About Merit Medical Systems

Merit Medical Systems, Inc is a medical device company that develops, manufactures and distributes disposable products used in interventional, diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Its devices are designed for use by healthcare professionals in hospitals, outpatient facilities and other clinical settings.

The company's product portfolio includes devices for vascular access, angiography, intervention, drainage, embolization, oncology and cardiac procedures. Merit also offers products used in peripheral intervention, spine procedures and other specialized areas of minimally invasive medicine, including kits, accessories and related procedural equipment.

Founded in 1987 and headquartered in South Jordan, Utah, Merit Medical serves healthcare providers through a global commercial and manufacturing network.

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